According to a new study from the University of Southern California, photos of high-calorie foods like cupcakes, sodas, pizza—pretty much anything yummy—flip a switch in your brain that makes you crave them.

For the study, researchers scanned the brains of women as they were shown photos of high-calorie (hamburgers, cookies, etc.) and low-calorie foods (veggies and fruits). After participants viewed the photos, they were asked to rate their hunger levels and whether they were craving sweet or savory foods on a scale of one to 10.

Halfway through the study, researchers had the women drink 50 grams of glucose and later 50 grams of fructose, which are the main components of sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.

The results: Women had greater cravings for high-calorie foods when they looked at photos of them, and the areas of their brains associated with appetite and rewards lit up. Their cravings increased even more after drinking fructose and glucose—but scientists discovered that fructose kicked off hunger pangs and cravings more.

What does this mean for you? Maybe take a pass on eyeballing Pinterest recipes and avert your eyes from the pastry display when you head to Starbucks. And, whatever you do, don't guzzle a high-fructose corn syrup-packed drink while looking at pictures of food. Not that you would, but...